


The Things I Didn’t Know I Needed

by Tiptapricot



Category: Batman Beyond, DC Animated Universe (Timmverse)
Genre: Crying, Fluff, Gen, Identity Reveal, Matt has some feelings, dak is robin, good brother Terry, talking about feelings, very mild angst, wholesome bro time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:47:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21557809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiptapricot/pseuds/Tiptapricot
Summary: Matt finds out that his brother is Batman. He wasn’t ready for that, not at all.
Relationships: Matt McGinnis & Terry McGinnis
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	The Things I Didn’t Know I Needed

**Author's Note:**

> Anon request from Tumblr: “Batman gets a Robin, (either Miguel from the episode Unmask, or Dak from Where’s Terry?) and Matt finds out, that a) his big brother is Batman, and b) Terry got some ‘random kid’ to be Robin and not him, his own little brother.”
> 
> So thank you anon!

Matt was home alone when it happened. Terry had gone out to run errands for Mr. Wayne and their mom had gone shopping for dinner. It wasn’t anything unusual, the same thing happened a few times every week. Matt had the TV to keep him occupied and there were snacks in the fridge if he wanted anything. The evening was going as per usual, Matt even having managed to dig out one of the boxes of Valentine's chocolates Terry never ate, when he heard something from down the hall. He turned down the volume on the TV and got up, walking as slowly and quietly as he could towards the sound. 

His mom had always told him to be careful of intruders. They had good locks on their windows and doors, but like she always said, you could never be too careful in Gotham.

As Matt got closer, he realized the sound was voices, two of them, coming from Terry’s room. His first thought was that Terry had somehow gotten Dana into the house, and he was getting ready to throw open the door and tease them, when he realized that the second voice didn’t sound like Dana at all; it sounded like a little boy.

“You can’t just follow me home! How am I gonna explain this to my folks?” He heard Terry say.

“I wanted to see where you live. It’s been almost two months now and what do I get? Your name. I don’t even get to see your face, and it’s really starting to get on my nerves. You know how much a name means in Gotham? Nothing! There are like, what, a million Terrys? And what kind of lame name is ‘Terry’ anyways? I mean you can’t blame me for—”

“Okay, okay, you can come over for a bit, but as soon as my mom and brother get home you leave, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever.” The other voice sounded annoyed, and young, like some of Matt's school friends. Who was this kid?

There was a slight shuffling sound, and a bump that sounded like someone falling over, before the voices picked up again.

“This is your room?” The voice asked.

“Yeah, yeah it is.”

“It’s lame. Do you not like pictures or something?”

“I don’t exactly spend a lot of time in here.”

“So do I get to see your face now or what?”

Matt pressed his ear closer to the door. What on earth was going on?

“Only if you promise not to make my life hell if you see me in public.”

“Hey! You know me. I don’t snitch.”

“Fine." A beat. "There, happy?”

The kid laughed.

“You’re just as lame as your name. You look like the pretty-boy biker kids that ride around my neighborhood.”

“Gee, thanks. Now remember what I said, my mom and brother are out shopping right now but they should be back soon. The second the car rolls up you’re right back out that window. Understand?”

“I’m not some dumb kid, man, I know what I’m doing.”

“Right, because you totally knew what you were doing when those dregs beat your ass tod—”

Matt almost fell over when the door opened in front of him. He stumbled back, eyes widening as he came face to face with a big, red, bat symbol.

“Holy…” he breathed. 

“Matt?” Terry looked surprised. “I... What are you doing here? Didn’t you go out with mom?”

Matt shook his head in a daze. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the symbol on Batman—on _Terry's—_ chest. It didn't make sense. Terry couldn’t be Batman, Batman was strong and schway, like the _schwayest_ hero ever, and Terry… wasn't. He wasn’t special, in fact he was a huge jerk if anything. He was a lame older brother who never made time for his family. Because he _can’t._ Because he’s _Batman. He’s standing right there, he’s wearing the suit,_ **_he’s Batman._**

Matt took a step back, then two more. Terry followed, still trying to come up with an explanation.

“I— it’s not what it looks like I swear it’s just a, uh…It’s a school project! One of my friends made this for me and I was just… I was just trying it on!”

“What’s goin’ on Terry?” A head poked out from under Terry's arm.

_Robin._

It had been a media sensation when Robin was first sighted a few months ago. Matt had gotten all the new toys and Robin had quickly become his hero, almost more than Batman already was. He loved to tell his mom “He’s my age! I could be a hero like him someday, just watch!” And now here the kid was, standing in the middle of his brother’s room like it was the most normal thing in the world. He was a bit taller than Matt, and he’d pulled back his mask to reveal a round faced kid with dark eyebrows and a permanent smirk.

“Woah…” Matt looked between the two of them. Batman. Robin. Terry. Robin. Terry. Some random kid.

“You’re _Batman?!”_ He didn’t mean to yell. He also didn’t mean to trip over himself as he ran for the living room as soon he said it. Some kind of trick, it had to be. Spellbinder maybe, or some new villain that messed up what you saw.

“Woah woah woah, hey Twip, where’re you going?!” A pair of smooth black arms wrapped around Matt’s stomach, hoisting him up into the air. The texture felt so wrong. It was soft, almost like skin, but it was too smooth, too cold, too firm.

“Let me go!” He tried to wriggle free but the arms were too strong. _Too strong to be human._

Definitely Spellbinder. Or something worse.

“I said let _go!”_ Matt twisted in place and hit Not-Terry in the face as hard as he could. Not-Terry let go of him with a grunt of “What the hell Mattie?” And then Matt was running for the door again.

It wasn’t Terry. It wasn’t Batman. It was something, someone, who had broken into their house or was making him see things.

“Bud, can you calm down and look at me for a second?”

“No.” Matt tried the door but it wouldn't open. His mom must’ve locked it when she left. He didn’t turn around, just pressed his face into the wood and crossed his arms.

The voice, the voice that _sounded_ like Terry, but that _couldn’t_ be Terry, laughed.

“What are you doing Mattie?”

“You’re not Batman _or_ Terry. Leave me alone.” He mumbled, pressing his forehead harder against the door.

“Oh bud... I;m sorry, I wanted to tell you. Can you turn around, just for a second, and let me explain?”

Matt shook his head emphatically and squeezed his eyes shut, counting to ten.

One.

It wasn’t Batman because Terry wasn’t Batman.

Two.

Terry wasn’t Batman because Batman was a hero.

Three.

Terry wasn’t a hero, not really.

Four.

He made Matt laugh and he hugged him a lot, but he always left.

Five.

Just like dad.

Six.

Dad left and Terry came back into his life like he hadn’t been gone for nearly three years.

Seven.

Terry never had fun, he was too tired and too serious.

Eight.

He didn’t want to do things with Matt, even though he wasn’t _that_ much older than him.

Nine.

Terry wasn’t schway or strong, he couldn’t do cool flips or fly a jet or beat up bad guys.

Ten.

So Terry wasn’t Batman, and the person behind him wasn’t Terry.

So who was he?

“Mattie, please?”

“Your brother’s acting like a big baby.” The kid said. Anger flared in Matt’s chest.

“I am not!” He spun around without a second thought, cheeks flushed.

The kid, the kid that _looked_ like Robin but _wasn’t_ Robin, just smiled.

“Not _now_ Dak.” Not-Terry hissed. He met Matt’s eyes and smiled. It was a look he’d seen a few times, like when he’d come home after Batman had saved him from Stalker, or after Matt had scraped his knee at Cheesy Dan’s. It was a look Terry gave him that was soft and worried and… _and Not-Terry really did look like Terry, didn't he?_

“You… you _are_ Batman.” Matt’s eyes widened again, flicking between his brother's face to the symbol on his chest. He took a step forward and reached out to touch it, carefully, like Terry was going to bite his fingers off if he went to fast.

“I didn’t think you'd find out like this," Terry chuckled halfheartedly, "and I definitely didn’t expect you to _run._ ”

Matt was speechless. It wasn’t an illusion. Terry, Terry his _brother,_ was Batman.

“Schway.” he breathed.

“Are you done freaking out now? I tell ya, none of my friends would react like that. That was real weird.”

Terry glared at the kid. What had he called him? Dak? What kind of name was that anyway?

“Listen, I guess I better go. See you the next time something interesting happens and we can kick some butt. Thanks for finally letting me see your face by the way.” Dak pulled his mask back on and walked back into Terry’s room. Matt heard the click of the window lock and a whoosh of air and then there was silence.

“So… I guess we need to talk.”

***

Terry got a call when he was changing in his room. He was trying to talk quietly but Matt heard him loud and clear.

“Yeah I know, but some stuff came up okay? Tell the commish I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“...”

“No, I said it can’t _wait_.”

“...”

“Ugh, yeah, uh… Mattie found out.”

“...”

“Yeah I _know_ but I can’t erase his memory or anything! He saw me _in suit,_ so we're just gonna have to deal with it!”

“...”

“Yeah, I’m gonna talk to him right now. Right. Yeah. See you later Bruce.”

Terry came out of his room a few minutes later dressed in his normal clothes. He was carrying the batsuit in one hand, folded up nice and neat, and the cowl in the other.

The shock hadn’t completely worn off, so it was still weird to see the costume sitting in his brother’s lap when he joined Matt on the couch, but at the same time, he was excited. He was talking to Batman for Pete’s sake, and something about that edged out the weirdness for him.

“What’s it like to fight bad guys? How did you become Batman? Can you show me any moves?” It all tumbled out like a dam breaking.

“Alright Twip, calm down.” Terry was smiling, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Before anything you gotta promise me you won’t tell Mom about this, okay?”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.”

“Or any of your friends.”

“Okay okay I get it!” Matt reached over to feel the suit again. It was still that weird texture, almost like silk skin.

“Alright then. What do you want to know? One question at a time though.”

Matt opened his mouth but paused for a moment, thinking. He wanted to ask a lot of things but… there was one question he had to ask.

“Is this why you’re always gone?”

Terry blinked owlishly.

“I—uh yeah I guess. It is a pretty time consuming job, Bud.”

Right. Batman had to fight bad guys and Gotham had a lot of bad guys. Still…

“Mom wishes you were home more y’know. I’ve heard her talk with her friends about it.” He tried to be casual about it, staring intently at the red and black material of the suit. That was all he could focus on right now, it was weird to look Terry in the eye.

He heard his brother sigh and felt him lean back into the couch cushions.

“Yeah... I know. I’m working on that. You’ve been a real help though, I’ve heard her talk about that too.”

Matt gave a small smile, but it dropped after a moment. “You’ve been gone even more recently, I think she’s starting to worry. Is it some big thing? Like when the Joker came back last year?”

“No, no, I’ve just been busy training Dak. He’s the new Robin, that kid that was with me just now.”

“Yeah Terry, I know. I’m not deaf.” Matt flicked a piece of dust off the suit.

“Oh… right.”

“How hard can it be though?”

“You mean besides the fact that he never listens and my boss has us training almost 24/7?”

 _“I’d_ listen. I bet I could be a _great_ Robin.”

“Sure bud.” The way Terry said it it almost sounded like he was joking.

Matt felt his face heat up, the anger from before resurfacing.

“I could!" He said indignantly. "And you _know_ me already! He’s just some random kid!”

“Woah, woah, hey. I’m not saying you wouldn’t be a good hero, but Dak _needed_ Robin, Mattie, just like I needed Batman.” Terry was using the calm voice, the one he used to get Matt to listen or do what he wanted, but it wasn’t going to work this time.

“How? How did he _need_ Robin?”

Terry sighed again, pushing the hair out of his eyes.

“That’s a long story, bud. Dak helped me out of a sticky situation a while back. I didn’t see him for a long time after, and then a few months ago I was beating up a gang and he stopped one of the guys from hitting me with a pipe. He got knocked out though, so I tried to bring him home. Turns out his folks died in a house fire while he was at school. My boss knows a thing or two about that kind of stuff, and told me it might be a good idea to take him on. _I_ was the hesitant one at first, if you can imagine, but in the end it was the best option. He’s with a foster family now, and he works with me as Robin on the side. If I hadn’t given him that… who knows where he’d be right now.”

Matt was mistaken. The excitement he’d felt earlier had just been anger.

“But what about _me?_ I lost I lost Dad! Why didn’t you ask _me?”_ His voice cracked as it rose in volume. Feelings were hard. They were confusing, messy, and usually too big for Matt to handle. He was standing before he knew it, his feet sinking into the cushions, his finger pointing accusingly at Terry.

“Oh Mattie, it’s not like that.” Terry tried to say, brows twisted in something sad.

“Yeah? Then what is it like? You chose some street kid who you barely know over _me_!”

“Matt—”

“I need help too! You think it’s been easy? Everyone’s already moved on but I haven’t! I still miss Dad and I—” he didn’t mean to start crying, “and I—I… I can’t remember his face that well anymore, Terry. I can’t rem—remember what he looked like.” A hiccup interrupted the sentence, sounding much closer to a sob than he wanted it too.

“Oh bud, I’m sorry.” Terry pulled him down into a hug and Matt heard a dull thump as the costume slid onto the floor. Terry’s arms were solid and warm, his fingers combing comfortingly through Matt’s hair.

How did feelings just do that? How did they change so fast? From so big to so small, so angry to so sad? Matt pressed his fists against Terry’s chest and cried harder, his voice wobbling and cracking and shaking like a bowl of jello.

“Hey, I’m here. I’m sorry I haven’t been, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I’m here now, Mattie, okay?”

Matt nodded into Terry’s shoulder.

“I love you bud.” Terry said, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.

They sat like that for a few minutes, Matt’s sobs slowly quieting, the tears drying in sticky tracks down his cheeks. Terry didn’t move, he continued to hold Matt tight and rub his shoulders, and they just sat like that.

“Can I… can I be Robin someday?” Matt finally asked. “I think I... need it too.”

He could feel Terry smile against his hair. “We’ll see. I don’t want you getting hurt, and Robin’s taken right now, but maybe you can be someone else, okay?”

Matt looked up at Terry and smiled.

“Okay.”

Terry gave him another kiss on the forehead and got up. He stretched, groaning, and made his way to the kitchen. “I have a thing I need to get to. Wanna come with?”

“What kind of thing?” Matt scrubbed at his cheeks, wiping his hands on the couch cushions. 

“Hero stuff. It’s about a case but it’s nothing major.” Terry started rummaging in one of the drawers.

“What about mom? We can’t just leave.” 

“I’ll leave a note, say I’m taking you to Cheesy Dan’s for a bit or something.”

“Okay.”

Terry paused when he pulled out the sticky notes.

“Hey Matt?”

“Yeah?”

“You know you’ll always be more important than any Batman business right?”

Matt stared. 

He stared at his brother, still tall, maybe a bit less lanky than he’d been before, more muscle, his hair falling thick and dark in front of his eyes. He stared at that dimple on his chin that Matt had always wanted, and he realized that it was the same brother he’d always had. 

He stared at Batman, the hero who was standing in his kitchen, who had saved people countless times on TV, who had saved _him_ more times than he could count. He looked at the way Terry held himself, a bit surer and straighter than he remembered, at the way his eyes looked tired but sharp, and the bruise that was becoming more visible on his jaw. He stared and he realized that Terry was Batman. He stared and he realized things weren’t the same, and maybe they hadn’t been for a long, long time.

He stared and he thought about those words. He thought about the boy in the Robin costume who was not him and who needed the suit. He thought about how he didn’t understand his feelings, and about how things were confusing and he didn’t know if they would ever stop being that way.

“Yeah. Yeah I know.” He said after a moment. And he _meant_ it. 

Sometimes things were simple, sometimes they weren’t. Sometimes people were there, sometimes they weren’t. Sometimes Matt was alone and sometimes Terry was dragging him into a limousine and driving him to a big house and leading him down a secret passage and introducing him to a legacy.

Sometimes there was Batman, and sometimes there was Terry.

And that was okay.

And Matt was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I know it might’ve come off that Dak was an asshole in this, but I want to make it clear he’s just being a little shit because he’s a kid and he and Matt 100% become friends later.


End file.
